Perez brands his Singapore GP a ‘complete disaster’ after struggling to progress beyond P10

Sergio Perez gave a brutally honest assessment of his Singapore Grand Prix post-race, with the Mexican labelling it as a “complete disaster” after he could only finish in P10.

The weekend started off in difficult fashion for Red Bull, as both Perez and team mate Max Verstappen complained of problems with the handling of their cars after Friday’s practice sessions.

But while Verstappen bounced back to take P2 in Saturday’s qualifying, Perez exited in Q2 and was left to start Sunday’s race from down in P13, a situation that he branded a “nightmare”.

SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE - SEPTEMBER 22: Sergio Perez of Mexico driving the (11) Oracle Red Bull Racing — After gaining positions on Lap 1, Perez struggled to progress during the Singapore Grand Prix and crossed the line in P10

Come race day, Perez’s prospects initially looked promising after gaining three positions on the opening lap. However, he was unable to make much further ground from there and ended the day in 10th place, taking just one point in the process.

Asked later on if he was disappointed to not make faster progress during the Grand Prix, Perez answered: “Yes, I think also the strategy, looking at it, when you see where Carlos [Sainz] finished [in P7 from P10 on the grid], probably we lost an opportunity to make more progress and undercut more people.

“Once we were on a similar tyre age behind Nico [Hulkenberg], it was… that was pretty much it.”

Perez brands his Singapore Grand Prix ‘a complete disaster’ as he comes home P10

Pushed on how frustrating it had been to spend much of the race stuck behind the Williams of Franco Colapinto, the 34-year-old said: “It was a very… it was a disaster, complete disaster.

“We had a good Lap 1, we were up to P10 and that’s basically where we finished, so a bit of a shame in that regard.”

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While team mate Verstappen took home a valuable 18 points in second place, Red Bull have now slipped further behind McLaren in the constructors’ championship, with the Woking-based outfit extending their lead to 41 points.